miscellany

I've been on the lookout for the release of Cloud9 Fabric's Miscellany line for weeks. As soon as it hit Sew Fresh Fabrics on Wednesday, I had it in my shopping cart. And just two days later it was here at my house! Crazy fast shipping! I still can't believe how quickly it arrived.

Yum, yum, yum. And the prints are even better in person. Trust me. They're a must-have.

I couldn't resist using it right away, so I made a new project tote for a birthday gift out of the Candy Trees and Stacked prints. A twin is winging its way into my etsy shop as well.

a pair of pillows

With all of the back-to-school sewing going on here (Claire wants a messenger bag for school now too), I decided to shelve my original cushion plan that used bunches of quarter square triangles and went the quick route instead. Enter the Echino cheater print:

The construction is super simple. Each pillow consists of an 18" square of the Echino and two 14" x 18" pieces of what has become my favorite fabric (from Jo Ann's of all places!), hemmed and overlapped to make an envelope back, and an 18" pillow form. I sewed them with a 1/4 inch seam allowance and zig zagged the raw edges to prevent fraying. Super easy! It took about 20 minutes per pillow.

Ah, much better. Rob cringed when he saw them (do all men hate pillows on the couch?) but Avery and Claire snuggled up with them right away.

Also, I decided to tweak my blog design this morning without much planning. Please let me know if anything looks weird!

reopened

I've decided to reopen my etsy shop. I've listed some new log cabin zip pouches.

Plus I've decided to sell my Modern Mountains quilt. It was a tough decision, but Rob has the original version in his office already. I'd like to put some other artwork up in our home.

Take a peek at Spotted Stone Studios!

a school bag for Avery

School starts here in 19 days. Can you believe it? It's the price we pay for starting vacation in mid-May I guess. I'm on top of things for once though and managed to make Avery's requested school bag with plenty of time to spare!

Avery originally wanted a tote with a zipper closure on top, but I convinced her to try a messenger style instead. Since we only had a half yard of the Appleville fabric she wanted to use, I put it front and center on the flap. We then decided on a dirt-hiding grey linen for the body of the bag. The flap is lined with Sevenberry school supplies fabric, the lining is a green seersucker, and the straps and outside pocket are Timeless Treasures organic crosshatch. Yummy!

I used this messenger bag tutorial by mmmcrafts but enlarged the length by 5 inches and the width by 2 to allow for more room. I also increased the seam allowances to 1/2 inch because of the fraying nature of the linen. One thing I wish I could change is the floppy nature of the bag. I interfaced it with fusible fleece, but looking back, I should have also added additional interfacing to stiffen things up a bit. I think I'll tack a fabric-covered piece of plastic into the bottom to add structure and experiment with a different interfacing in the future. The pattern itself is very easy to follow, and the bag came together in a single naptime.

Avery loves it too, although you'd never know it from her serious pre-teen expression.

collaborative sewing with kids

I was in my sewing room this morning, stitching up more flying geese for my Doll Quilt Swap quilt, when Claire came in and started digging through my fabrics. And she asked me to sew her a bag. I tend to tell the girls that I'll sew for them another day, then that day just keeps getting pushed back and things don't get done at all. (I'll admit, I'm a selfish crafter and I usually have my limited naptime sewing time all planned out. I don't think I'm alone there?) So I told her to pick out fabrics and tell me what she wanted.

Claire started with the turquoise and pink plaid (because she likes fancy things like private school, and private school uniforms are plaid, you know) and pointed to my rainbow zip pouch, asking if I could make her's just the same but with a strap. I secretly hoped that the plaid would be part of the strip and that I could convince her to use some denim or linen for the main part of the bag. But no! She wanted it to be the main fabric, and her selection of accent solids and prints quickly followed. I found a piece of webbing for the strap, she picked out a hot pink zipper, and a half hour later we had a finished bag.

I won't lie-- this bag is not at all my style. The super bright colors and crazy mix of prints sort of make my eyes hurt. But Claire LOVES it. I love that she designed it herself and feels so proud about her choices. That's something I really have to remember about sewing for kids-- they have different ideas about what is fun and fresh. Those ideas are likely to be different than mine. And that's a good thing.

Next up is a school bag for Avery. She wants something big in place of a backpack and has picked out this Appleville print as her main fabric. Looks like I've got lots of bright sewing ahead!

summer swaps

After swearing off swaps for so long, I found myself signing up for three this summer! I decided it was time to stretch my skills again by sewing for a partner's likes. And I got my wish. So far I've got two great partners, and they both have tastes pretty different from my own.

The first is Doll Quilt Swap 11. The rules are a bit different this round with no art quilts and a requirement of at least 6 blocks on the front. I've got teeny piecing planned. My partner loves bright, clean colors. Break out your sunglasses, because I've got them here!

I'm looking for something maybe a bit more mellow. Give me mustard over orange, and aqua over turquoise.



1. Triangles, 2. Squares quilt, 3. A year in scraps..., 4. from Helinaq, 5. squares!, 6. triangles, 7. Anniversary Crosses, 8. his rose garden is immaculate, 9. bag swap progress, 10. Yellow and Gray Triangles, 11. alphabet baby quilt, 12. YIP 365.341 :: Fish Baby Log Cabin, 13. Mini Quadrilateral Quilt, 14. The Art Quilt Collection, 15. Vivaldi finished, 16. Color Study: Nine Patch ~ 2002, 50"X50"

 My Pretty {little} Pouch Swap partner seems to love all things pretty. Pastel pinks, aquas, and greens are her absolute favorites from what I can tell. I haven't sewn with these colors in ages! And I think only on a baby quilt.

I'm looking for something a little less sweet. Um, more mustard please? 




1. #10, 2. flex frame pouch, 3. pretty little pouch front..., 4. his rose garden is immaculate, 5. head over heels quilt, 6. bag swap progress, 7. Yellow and Gray Triangles, 8. Untitled, 9. Rich cream clutch with applique abstract rose detail ... organic fabrics (1), 10. Mini Quadrilateral Quilt, 11. Hey Alice!, 12. table runner love., 13. Color Study: Log Cabin 2 ~ 2007, 14. the peaceful pincushion, 15. Andrea Block #2, 16. Concert Ukulele Bag

 

 The third swap I signed up for is For the Love of Solids. Sign ups are still open until they hit 100 participants, so hurry up and add your name! I was blown away by other members' mosaics and just couldn't resist adding my name. There is so much inspiration out there.



1. Triangles, 2. Squares quilt, 3. A year in scraps..., 4. from Helinaq, 5. squares!, 6. triangles, 7. Anniversary Crosses, 8. his rose garden is immaculate, 9. bag swap progress, 10. Yellow and Gray Triangles, 11. alphabet baby quilt, 12. YIP 365.341 :: Fish Baby Log Cabin, 13. Mini Quadrilateral Quilt, 14. The Art Quilt Collection, 15. Vivaldi finished, 16. Color Study: Nine Patch ~ 2002, 50"X50"


Any grand plans for the weekend? I've got a pretty long trail run tomorrow (um, 15 miles? Help!) and then some birthday celebrations with family on Sunday. We're definitely taking advantage of summer.

and the winner of the GO! baby is...

Congratulations Liz!!!

my friends are pattern geniuses

My friend Amy at During Quiet Time has been wowing me for ages with her impeccable quilting and hand-printed fabrics. Have you seen her latest Catherineholm-inspired tea towels? Amazing. And now she's entered into the world of pattern design with her Ruched Happy Bag pattern and the just-released Vintage Collection Tea Kettle quilt block pattern, which I had the pleasure of sewing up last night.

I'm a complete newbie to paper-piecing. Well, I did make a circle of geese block once upon a time, but that was a hot mess. Amy's pattern is so clear though that I was able to draw from my basic knowledge of how to place the fabrics and sew with a very teeny stitch length and complete my kettle with no issues. (Well, with no issues regarding the pattern. I was not so precise with my sewing so my block ended up a bit wonky. Next time I'll follow the rules better for perfect results.) A beginner could do a bit of googling to learn the basics of paper piecing too and complete this as a first pattern no problem. I plan to quilt my block up into a little mini over the next few days so I can practice Amy's cool steam technique. If you want to know more about Amy and her crafting, you can read more about her here on a recent feature at Noodlehead.

Coincidentally, Anna at Noodlehead created the pattern for the 241 tote bag, which I sewed up times two last week for friends.

I made one from some circle-print japanese fabric (just like the first 241 tote I sewed up) and paired it with Cloud9 leaf fabric and some natural Essex linen blend.

The second is made from my all-time favorite Japanese grey woven fabric, some aqua Moda crossweave, and Cake Rock Beach dots. I lined it with another great Cloud9 fabric, Clearing.

The red tote is going to my friend Tregei in Montana, and the blue one is going to my friend Bridget as a consolation bag. Not because the 241 tote isn't awesome, which it is, but because Bridget asked me to sew her up a new purse nearly a year ago and I still haven't done it. If anyone knows of a really great pattern for a fairly roomy, no-fuss purse/tote with a zippered closure, please pass it on. Because draft after draft of my own attempts show that I need to leave pattern designing up to my friends. Thank you Amy and Anna for doing it right!

GO! Baby-- a giveaway

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED!

It's time! AccuQuilt has given me the go ahead to give away a GO! Baby fabric cutter (plus 3 dies) to one lucky reader!

How to win:

It's easy! Just leave a comment! Are you a follower? Leave a second comment to increase your chances of winning. If your email address isn't published in blogger, make sure you include it in your comment so I have a way of contacting you (should you win). The winner will be chosen at random, and AccuQuilt will ship the GO! Baby anywhere in the world.

I'll leave comments open through this Wednesday, 10:00 p.m. Alaska time. Good luck!!!  Giveaway complete!

the big orange wall quilt

The big orange wall quilt is done!

I actually finished this up late Sunday night, but a trip out to our cabin kept me from hanging it on the wall until last night. I got some amazing feedback about how to do the final layout (rectangular, dyptich, darker strips to add some assymetry). But in the end, I decided to keep it square and simple as was my original plan.

This quilt was a collaborative effort. 15 of the blocks were made by members of my Bee Liberated group on flickr. Even though the blocks are all very simple in their design and contain mostly the same fabrics, the fact that they were made by so many different people makes each one unique. It also turns out that one of my bee member's additions really made this quilt sing. Heidi sent me this center block made with teal and grey fabrics that I hadn't included in my packets.

Honestly, my first though was, "Oh, no! How are these going to work in the quilt?" But she also included extra pieces of that teal that I ended up using in many more of the blocks I made. Those spots of teal ended up creating movement in the quilt that I don't think I would have acheived had I kept only the original fabrics I had chosen. So thank you Heidi!

I still think the wall needs a few more things. But I think that can wait a bit. My other cushions will have to wait too. I've got things planned with the kids today and a fun weekend ahead of wedding and friends.  But please make sure to check back on Monday-- I'll be giving away a GO! Baby to a lucky someone!

chiseled

I wish this post was about my abs, but it is not. My midsection instead resembles the squishiness of this:

I made my first pillow today with the chisel die that I received with my AccuQuilt GO! Baby! I'll admit that my math is rusty though. I had the design all mapped out, then had to improvise in the middle of the process because I thought that the two chisels when sewn together were 12.5 inches tall, not 9.5 inches. Oh well, I added a couple of borders. I'll have another tutorial up later this week on the pillow I'm making from the quarter square die!

Chiseled Pillow Tutorial

Materials:

6 different fabrics, cut into 4" x 12" rectangles (You'll see I have 8 in my photo. Whoops! There was the math issue. You can use 8 fabrics like I did to get more variety, but you'll have 4 spare chisels to use in a different project.)

(2) 2" x 16.5" strips of solid fabric

(2) 12.5" squares of backing fabric
(1) 12.5" x 16.5" rectangle of muslin
12" x 16" pillow form
AccuQuilt GO! Baby and Chisel Die

Instructions:

1. Place three rectangles of fabric, stacked on top of one another, on the chisel die. Make sure to line up the fabric so that it covers the blades completely and that the grain is straight (the blades are set at an angle on the die for easier cutting).

2. Place the cutting mat on top, and roll on through the GO! Baby!

3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 with the other 3 fabrics. (See note 3 at the bottom of this post if you're using all prints for your fabrics. If so, you'll need to lay your second set of fabrics right side down.)

4. You'll have 12 perfect chisel shapes and very little waste!

5. Arrange chisels in your preferred layout and sew together. Sew them up in pairs first (one each from the top and bottom row), then stitch the six pairs together. Trim 1" off of each side so that the panel of chisels measures 9.5" by 16.5".

6. Sew the solid strips to the top and bottom of the pieced chisels to complete the top.

7. On each piece of backing fabric, fold one edge over 1/2 inch and press. Fold over again 1/2 inch and topstitch to create a finished edge.

8. Layer the pieces for final construction in this order: muslin, pillow top (right side up), and overlapping backing pieces (right side down). Pin layers together.

9. Sew around perimeter using a 3/8" seam allowance. Turn right side out, and stuff with your pillow form!

I've mentioned before that my family does not appreciate pillows on our couches. Cooper is already showing his disdain.

I expect it to get munched up by the dogs within a week or two.

Some notes about the above project:

1. It took me less then 5 minutes to cut all of the fabric into their rough rectangles, then less than 5 minutes to run them through the GO! Baby. Definitely a timesaver.

2. The notches in the dies make it super easy to line up the chisels for sewing. It makes piecing much more accurate than if I tried to sew up chisel shapes cut with a rotary tool.

3. One thing that I didn't get when I was first cutting is that the chisels all come out of the die exactly the same. I thought that I would get two chisels that were a mirror image of one another. Of course I looked at the instructions on the die afterwards, and they make that clear. Another whoops for me. It was okay because half of my fabrics were solids, so I could flip them over to make the design work. But if you're using all prints, you need to place half of your fabrics right side down on the dies, and half of them right side up to get six chisels of each orientation. That's the way to make the zig zag setup that I have in my pillow.

Let me know if you have any questions!

TGIF-- but it's not what you think

Sure, it's Friday. But today, TGIF also stands for This GO! is Fantastic!

The amazing people at AccuQuilt contacted me a couple of weeks ago asking if I would like to try out their GO! Baby cutter. I jumped at the opportunity, and my big box of happiness landed on our doorstep Wednesday afternoon. The girls and I had everything out on the kitchen table and played right away. So fun and easy to use!

I've got plans to make a couple of much-needed cushions this weekend for my brown leather couches using either the chisel or quarter square dies. Or maybe I'll use the tumbler, which has been a favorite of mine since AccuQuilt released their GO! cutters. You'll also have the opportunity to win your very own GO! Baby. Stay tuned! And in the meantime, learn more about AccuQuilt and get 22 free patterns here:

Hope you have a great holiday weekend if you're in Canada or the U.S.! Or a great weekend in general if you're not. Rob has a whole week off, so I'm looking forward to both the family and solo time that comes with him being home. Maybe the weather will surprise us and we'll have some sunshine too?